The invention relates to the field of animal waste disposal systems and more particularly, to an inexpensive and safe animal commode.
Various types of animal commodes have been proposed in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 3,990,397 to Lowe, Jr. shows a pet box for containing a dry absorbent material, such as cat litter, and having a detachable lid including a longitudinal waste receiving slot formed therein. It is also known to use a deodorized water solution in lieu of dry absorbent materials, which may be periodically drained, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,369 to Barnum. It is also known to place such animal commode devices directly over a conventional toilet, rather than over a separate waste receiving box, for example, as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,990,397 (supra) and 3,757,738 to Hall. In order to increase the safety of an animal during use and to decrease the emission of malodorous fumes from waste deposited in toilet adapted animal commode devices, it has been proposed to include a pressure actuated, electrically controlled trap-door mechanism which allows the weight of an animal's body to operate the mechanism, as is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,656,457.
The present invention represents an improvement over the devices known in the art by providing a safe, relatively simple and sanitary animal commode which may be used either as an accessory to a conventional toilet or in combination with a chemical waste disposal material contained in a separate tray. In an embodiment of the invention, a simple and efficient mechanically operated trap-door mechanism is provided.